Artists You Should Know

There are many music artisit out in the world today. There are some you know, and some you might not know. I'm here to tell you a little bit about the artists you might not know about.

First off, I'll start with The 1975. The 1975 has one album, but one album is all you need to be drawn into their music. Songs like Pressure, Robbers, and Settle Down tend to be my favorites to listen to. Pressure kind of a slow paced song that is very soothing to listen to. Robbers is a love song with very nice guitar riffs in it. Settle Down is a song that makes me want to get up and dance because it has a really nice beat.

Next, I'll talk about Vance Joy. You may know his song Riptide because it had played on the radio. Even though that song is very nice, Vance Joy also has lovely songs called Georgia and We All Die Trying to Get It Right. Georgia is a slow love song that can make you think of that special someone in your life. I listen to it as I'm relaxing. We All Die Trying to Get It Right is a song that can make you think about life and how to live it. It's a great song that I listen to when I'm going through rough times in my own life.

Lastly, I'll talk about a singer by the name of Andrew Belle. Andrew Belle hasn't had any songs played on the radio, but he's had his songs featured on TV shows like Grey's Anatomy and Pretty Little Liars. My two favorites by Andrew Belle would have to be Add It Up and My Oldest Friend. When I head the song Add It Up, I think of life lessons. The song makes me think of all the lessons I've learned from the mistakes I've made in my life, and how I apply them to future actions. My Oldest Friend makes me think of my childhood best friend. We've known each other since we were babies, so I consider her my oldest friend

As you can see, these are three artists that have effected the way I listen to music. I think you should listen to some songs by these artists because the songs they have are all wonderful.

Van Buren High School Band and Choir: The Year in Review

This year was my second year as a high school band and choir student. It's been an amazing year for me, musically. I recieved a superior rating on my vocal solo, an excellant rating on my snare drum solo, and an excellant rating in my percussion ensemble. Along with that, I got accected in to the District 3 Honors Choir, along with the Hancock County Honors Choir. All of these events were extremely fun to be a part of.
Along with individual stuff I did this year, I was also part of the marching band this past fall. Our competition show was titled Under Pressure. In that show we performed the songs Pressure by Billy Joel, Creep by Radiohead, and Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen. We made it to state competition with this show and ended up being the only Class C band in the state to get a superior rating at state competition. I was also involved with the Mixed Chorus. We also went to state competition and recieved a superior rating. At the spring concert this year, I got to sing a solo in our song called City Called Heaven. Mr. Michael Moyseenko, or student director, was the director for that piece.
As you can see ths year was great for me along with many others. It has also been a fun year. It's sad to see it all come to an end so quickly, but I know great things will come along next year.

All Types of Music

People call me weird because I enjoy listening to many types of music including Classical, Classic Rock, and Pop. I tend to ignore them because I don't think anyone should be limited to listen and enjoy one music type. What I do is listen to one type per day. Like today for example; today feels like the kind of day to rock out to some Journey or Kansas.

I think people should be open to all kinds of music. Each individual song tells it's own story. Some songs have an important message/lesson in them that can be learned. Different types of music can also make you feel different emotions. For example; if your listening to a slow contemporary song, you may feel relaxed. If you're listening to an upbeat rock song, it might make you want to dance.

As you can see, liking all different types of music is okay. If people make fun of you for it, oh well. They don't know what they're missing.

Time For Modern Composers: Eric Whitacre & Ola Gjelio

Lately, I've been getting into music that involves stuff such as choirs, concert bands, and orchestras. This type of music is called Classical music. I'm attracted to this type of music because a lot of different things can go on in these pieces of music. My favorite composers are Eric Whitacre and Ola Gjelio and here's why.

I'll talk about Eric Whitacre first. I absolutely love every single piece I have heard by Eric Whitacre from The Seal Lullaby to Lux Aurumque. His choral pieces take me to that happy place inside of my mind. You can really tell that he takes pride in his music by how he writes it. Singing a piece written by Eric Whitacre would make me fell honored as performer because he is highly respected in the Choral industry. I would do anything in my power to sing one of his pieces perfectly.

Next, I'll talk about Ola Gjelio. I got the opportunity to perform one of his pieces at an honors festival last year. The piece was called The Ground. It was my favorite piece that we sang out of our five selections. It was the song that brought out my inner emotions and made me tear up at how beautiful it was. When I sang this song, you could tell I was singing it with everything I had in me.

As you can tell, both Eric Whitacre and Ola Gjelio have a big impact on my choral career. If I ever got the chance to meet one or both of them, I would let them know how much they have impacted my life. They are part of the reason I want to become a music educator when I get older.

The Seal Lullaby - Eric Whitacre

"Oh! Hush thee, my baby, the night is behind us,
And black are the waters that sparkled so green.
The moon, o'er the combers, looks downward to find us,
At rest in the hollows that rustled between. 

Where billow meets billow, then soft be thy pillow,
Ah, weary wee flipperling, curl at thy ease.
The storm shall not wake thee, nor shark overtake thee,
Asleep in the arms of the slow swinging seas!"

         -Rudyard Kipling, 1865-1936

The Seal Lullaby is originally a poem written by Rudyard Kipling. It was used in the story The White Seal from The Jungle Book. Later on in 2010, a composer named Eric Whitacre used the words from the poem and created a beautiful choral piece called The Seal Lullaby. This piece is my favorite from Eric Whitacre by far. The mix of voice, piano, and string instruments is amazingly beautiful. I hope to one day perform this piece just because I want to experience how it feels to sing it. Performing this piece would definitely make me happy because Eric Whitacre is a big inspiration of mine.

Latin Jazz Music

Latin jazz is jazz with Latin American rhythms. Although musicians continually expand its parameters, the term Latin jazz is generally understood to have a more specific meaning than simply jazz from Latin America. Some Latin Jazz typically employs rhythms that either have a direct analog in Africa, or exhibit an African influence. The two main categories of Latin jazz are:

Afro-Cuban jazz—jazz rhythmically based on clave, often with a rhythm section employing ostinato patterns from Cuban popular dance music.

Afro-Brazilian jazz—includes bossa nova and jazz samba.

The Van Buren concert band used an example of Afro- Cuban jazz in their selection Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer in their winter concert. 

Barber Shop Quartets

Most of you may or may not know what a barber shop quartet is. They became to be in the revival era (1930's), in the United State, United Kingdom, Scandinavia, New Zealand, and Australia. They sing A Capella music, or music that in unaccompanied by a piano, characterized by consonant four-part chords for every melody note in a predominantly homophonic texture. Each of the four parts has its own role: generally, the lead sings the melody, the tenor harmonizes above the melody, the bass sings the lowest harmonizing notes, and the baritone completes the chord, usually below the lead. The melody is not usually sung by the tenor or baritone, except for an infrequent note or two to avoid awkward voice leading, in tags or codas, or when some appropriate embellishment can be created. Occasional passages may be sung by fewer than four voice parts.Source

Music in Schools: Peer Point of View

Most students in school are most interested in academics, athletics, or both at the same time. If there are any of you out there like me, you're more into music programs. Music in schools is a great thing to have. They say that kids who take music classes in school have an easier time with multitasking. I also talked to a few teachers (some of them are sports coaches, some are music teachers, some are just regular teachers) to get their input of music in schools.



Mr. Vaughn: Music is a important part to the "whole' person. There are outlets by which we need to express ourselves and music is a big one just like visual art, speech, theater/ drama. and music tends to accompany a lot of element that the arts provide.




Mr. Procyk: Teaches important life skills. Ex. hard work, persistence, getting along with others. We all seem to connect with music in a way that some people can't even explain, and that is an awesome thing. Seeing music in schools makes me feel honored as a director.







Mr. Vennekotter: It's incredibly important. It makes students well rounded and gives them opportunities to express themselves, whether it's instrumentally, vocally, or just being in an art class.






Mr. Rader: I think it is important because some people might not realize its something they like until they're in it. Another reason is you have to practice and that shows hard work, and they also say there is a relationship between music and math, counting and such. Because of that study it shows that music can help with your studies.





Miss Edinger (student choir teacher): I don't think it's just important,  It's essential for all ages because when you study music you practice critical thinking ongoing assessment and emoting. Plus it's really fun. It's learning and understanding a whole other language. It serves as an outlet. By studying music you can make better connections in class. I also believe that everyone wants to learn how to sing or play an instrument. Deep down music connects to everyone.

Solo and Ensemble

It's almost that time of year again. Time for young musicians to show what they can do, and get judged on their performance. Solo and Ensemble is upon us. Students who participate can perform a vocal solo, instrumental solo, vocal ensemble, and/or instrumental ensemble. I, along with more Van Buren students, will be participating in this, both vocally and instrumentally. I will be doing a vocal solo, percussion solo, and percussion ensemble. It takes a lot preparation for this if you want to perfect it. When you are judged, you receive a rating as to how well you performed, I (superior) being the highest and V (poor) being the lowest. Solo and Ensemble is a great way to challenge yourself as a musician. It's also very fun.

5 Seconds of Summer: Their Breakout

(from left to right)Luke Hemmings, Michael Clifford, Calum Hood, and Ashton Irwin

5 Seconds of Summer, or 5SOS, is becoming a common name in the music industry. The band consists of  Luke Hemmings (lead vocals and guitar), Michael Clifford (guitar and vocals), Calum Hood (bass guitar and vocals), and Ashton Irwin (drums and vocals). The band was originally started in Australia by Hemmings, Clifford, and Hood, who met during college, by posting covers to Luke's YouTube channel. Ashton later joined the band as their drummer. Despite having had no promotion apart from on Facebook and Twitter, their first EP, entitled Unplugged, reached number 3 on the iTunes chart in Australia and the Top 20 in both New Zealand and Sweden. Their international fame took off when Louis Tomlinson (member of One Direction) posted the link to their YouTube video of their song "Gotta Get Out", stating that he'd been a fan of 5 Seconds of Summer for a while. They were once again the subject of interest for One Direction following the release of their first single, "Out of My Limit", in November 2012, this time with Niall Horan tweeting the link to the video clip. In February 2013, it was announced that 5 Seconds of Summer would support One Direction on their worldwide Take Me Home Tour. Their connection with 1D lead to the media calling 5SOS a "boy band". Members of the band have said the group is not a boy band. Unlike many boy bands, they write their own songs, play their own instruments, and they are not primarily a dance group. Nevertheless, the band has attracted a fanatical following of girls much like other boy bands.

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Artist You Should Know: Broods

(left to right) Caleb and Georgia Nott

Broods consists of sibling duo Georgia and Caleb Nott from Nelson, New Zealand. The group was formed in early 2013 in Auckland. That was when they began working with their producer, Joel Little (who also produced Lorde's hit single, "Royals"). The brother-sister duo released their first single in October 2013 titled "Bridges" . The song debuted at No. 8 on the New Zealand Single Chart in January 2014 and was chosen as the iTunes Single of the Week in February 2014. The siblings signed with Capitol Records worldwide and Polydor in the UK and Europe in December of 2013. Their self-titled EP was released in January 2014 and featured 5 songs including "Bridges". They released their full length album titled "Evergreen" eight moths later in August. It features eleven tracks including "Mother and Father, Bridges, and L.A.F".

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Andrew Belle

Chicago-based singer/songwriter Andrew Belle worked tirelessly leading up to the 2010 release of his debut album The Ladder, doing performances and songwriting work in his field to the point that he was recognized with a John Lennon Songwriting award in 2009, a year before he even had an album out. While The Ladder leaned on the influence of indie folk contemporaries like Bon Iver and Fleet Foxes, its 2013 follow-up, Black Bear, went in a more dreamy and electronic direction, with Belle citing M83 and Beach House as key influences on the album. By his second album, Belle was splitting his time between Chicago and Nashville, Tennessee, going so far as to participate in the Ten Out of Tenn tour, a show based around Tennessee artists.

Music in Schools

This is an article I found on why music is beneficial in schools. I hope you guys find it very informational as I did.



Whether your child is the next Beyonce or more likely to sing her solos in the shower, she is bound to benefit from some form of music education. Research shows that learning the do-re-mis can help children excel in ways beyond the basic ABCs.

More Than Just Music
Research has found that learning music facilitates learning other subjects and enhances skills that children inevitably use in other areas. “A music-rich experience for children of singing, listening and moving is really bringing a very serious benefit to children as they progress into more formal learning,” says Mary Luehrisen, executive director of the National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM) Foundation, a not-for-profit association that promotes the benefits of making music.

Making music involves more than the voice or fingers playing an instrument; a child learning about music has to tap into multiple skill sets, often simultaneously. For instance, people use their ears and eyes, as well as large and small muscles, says Kenneth Guilmartin, cofounder of Music Together, an early childhood music development program for infants through kindergarteners that involves parents or caregivers in the classes.

“Music learning supports all learning. Not that Mozart makes you smarter, but it’s a very integrating, stimulating pastime or activity,” Guilmartin says.

Language Development
“When you look at children ages two to nine, one of the breakthroughs in that area is music’s benefit for language development, which is so important at that stage,” says Luehrisen. While children come into the world ready to decode sounds and words, music education helps enhance those natural abilities. “Growing up in a musically rich environment is often advantageous for children’s language development,” she says. But Luehrisen adds that those inborn capacities need to be “reinforced, practiced, celebrated,” which can be done at home or in a more formal music education setting.

According to the Children’s Music Workshop, the effect of music education on language development can be seen in the brain. “Recent studies have clearly indicated that musical training physically develops the part of the left side of the brain known to be involved with processing language, and can actually wire the brain’s circuits in specific ways. Linking familiar songs to new information can also help imprint information on young minds,” the group claims.

This relationship between music and language development is also socially advantageous to young children. “The development of language over time tends to enhance parts of the brain that help process music,” says Dr. Kyle Pruett, clinical professor of child psychiatry at Yale School of Medicine and a practicing musician. “Language competence is at the root of social competence. Musical experience strengthens the capacity to be verbally competent.”

Increased IQ
A study by E. Glenn Schellenberg at the University of Toronto at Mississauga, as published in a 2004 issue of Psychological Science, found a small increase in the IQs of six-year-olds who were given weekly voice and piano lessons. Schellenberg provided nine months of piano and voice lessons to a dozen six-year-olds, drama lessons (to see if exposure to arts in general versus just music had an effect) to a second group of six-year-olds, and no lessons to a third group. The children’s IQs were tested before entering the first grade, then again before entering the second grade.

Surprisingly, the children who were given music lessons over the school year tested on average three IQ points higher than the other groups. The drama group didn’t have the same increase in IQ, but did experience increased social behavior benefits not seen in the music-only group.

The Brain Works Harder
Research indicates the brain of a musician, even a young one, works differently than that of a nonmusician. “There’s some good neuroscience research that children involved in music have larger growth of neural activity than people not in music training. When you’re a musician and you’re playing an instrument, you have to be using more of your brain,” says Dr. Eric Rasmussen, chair of the Early Childhood Music Department at the Peabody Preparatory of The Johns Hopkins University, where he teaches a specialized music curriculum for children aged two months to nine years.

In fact, a study led by Ellen Winner, professor of psychology at Boston College, and Gottfried Schlaug, professor of neurology at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School, found changes in the brain images of children who underwent 15 months of weekly music instruction and practice. The students in the study who received music instruction had improved sound discrimination and fine motor tasks, and brain imaging showed changes to the networks in the brain associated with those abilities, according to the Dana Foundation, a private philanthropic organization that supports brain research.

Spatial-Temporal Skills
Research has also found a causal link between music and spatial intelligence, which means that understanding music can help children visualize various elements that should go together, like they would do when solving a math problem.

“We have some pretty good data that music instruction does reliably improve spatial-temporal skills in children over time,” explains Pruett, who helped found the Performing Arts Medicine Association. These skills come into play in solving multistep problems one would encounter in architecture, engineering, math, art, gaming, and especially working with computers.

Improved Test Scores
A study published in 2007 by Christopher Johnson, professor of music education and music therapy at the University of Kansas, revealed that students in elementary schools with superior music education programs scored around 22 percent higher in English and 20 percent higher in math scores on standardized tests, compared to schools with low-quality music programs, regardless of socioeconomic disparities among the schools or school districts. Johnson compares the concentration that music training requires to the focus needed to perform well on a standardized test.

Aside from test score results, Johnson’s study highlights the positive effects that a quality music education can have on a young child’s success. Luehrisen explains this psychological phenomenon in two sentences: “Schools that have rigorous programs and high-quality music and arts teachers probably have high-quality teachers in other areas. If you have an environment where there are a lot of people doing creative, smart, great things, joyful things, even people who aren’t doing that have a tendency to go up and do better.”

And it doesn’t end there: along with better performance results on concentration-based tasks, music training can help with basic memory recall. “Formal training in music is also associated with other cognitive strengths such as verbal recall proficiency,” Pruett says. “People who have had formal musical training tend to be pretty good at remembering verbal information stored in memory.”

Being Musical
Music can improve your child’ abilities in learning and other nonmusic tasks, but it’s important to understand that music does not make one smarter. As Pruett explains, the many intrinsic benefits to music education include being disciplined, learning a skill, being part of the music world, managing performance, being part of something you can be proud of, and even struggling with a less than perfect teacher.

“It’s important not to oversell how smart music can make you,” Pruett says. “Music makes your kid interesting and happy, and smart will come later. It enriches his or her appetite for things that bring you pleasure and for the friends you meet.”
While parents may hope that enrolling their child in a music program will make her a better student, the primary reasons to provide your child with a musical education should be to help them become more musical, to appreciate all aspects of music, and to respect the process of learning an instrument or learning to sing, which is valuable on its own merit.

“There is a massive benefit from being musical that we don’t understand, but it’s individual. Music is for music’s sake,” Rasmussen says. “The benefit of music education for me is about being musical. It gives you have a better understanding of yourself. The horizons are higher when you are involved in music,” he adds. “Your understanding of art and the world, and how you can think and express yourself, are enhanced.”Source

The British Invasion: From The Beatles to One Direction

With the recent emergence of a multitude of British artists like One Direction, Adele, Jessie J, Rita Ora, and Icona Pop (literally, just to name a few), many music-lovers are left wondering why Americans have been taking such an interest in British artists lately. Well, some might be surprised that this is not the first time Americans have taken a massive liking to the Brits. Take a journey through the Timeline of British Invasions and brush up on your music history.

Before “Directioners” existed, there was once a little thing called Beatlemania that trumped any mass hysteria within the music world.

18 November 1963 – The Hunter-Brinkley Report aired a 2-minute segment on mania surrounding a British boy-band residing in the United Kingdom. Four days later, Mike Wallace of CBS Morning News aired a story on the Beatles.

10 December 1963 – Walter Cronkite of CBS Evening News ran a report about the Beatles phenomenon taking place in the United Kingdom, thus propelling them into the arms of American fans

17 December 1963- After numerous phone calls days prior, DJ Carroll James allowed 15-year-old Marsha Albert of Silver Springs, Maryland, to introduced “I Want To Hold Your Hand” by the Beatles on WWDC radio station.

26 December 1963 – After months of not taking the Beatles seriously and pushing back their record release, Capitol Records started hand delivering their new record to radio stations weeks ahead of schedule. Keep in mind, no one expected their record to even break #75 on the Billboard charts. America’s love for the Beatles was instantaneous – especially in New York City.

18 January 1964 – “I Want To Hold Your Hand” entered the Billboard Hot 100 chart at #45, thus starting the British invasion of the American music industry

1 February 1964 – “I Want To Hold Your Hand” reached the #1 spot on Billboard Hot 100 and remained there for seven weeks. The single became the Beatles’ best-selling single worldwide.

7 February 1964 – The CBS Evening News ran a story about the Beatles’ United States arrival in which the correspondent was quoted saying, “The British Invasion this time goes by the code name Beatlemania.”

8 February 1964 – Dusty Springfield became the second British artist to reach the Billboard Hot 100 with his song “I Only Want to Be With You.”

9 February 1964 – The Beatles made their first American television appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show. Nielsen ratings estimated that 40-45 percent (75 million viewers) of US television viewers that night saw their appearance on the TV show.

1964 – 1966 – In this time period, other British acts like Peter and Gordon, The Rolling Stones, and Wayne Fontana and the Mindbenders would go on to have one or more number one singles in the United States.

8 May 1965 – half of the 26 Billboard Hot 100 chart toppers belonged to British acts.

1967 – The emergence of a relatively homogeneous worldwide “rock” music style about 1967 marked the end of the “invasion.” Artists like The Who would later cross the pond and become popular in the United States.



Second Wave of British Invasion: “MTV Era”

After years of developing a new sound unfamiliar to Americans, the Brits made their second swim across the pond, making a splash not only on the radio, but on our television screens as well.

3 July 1982 – The Human League’s “Don’t You Want Me” started a 3-weel reign on top of the Billboard 100 charts thanks to MTV’s airplay. As described by the Village Voice, “‘['Don't You Want Me' was] pretty unmistakably the moment the Second British Invasion, spurred by MTV, kicked off.”

September 1982 – MTV arrives in the media capitals of New York City and Los Angeles and leads to widespread positive publicity for the new “video era.”

Fall 1982 – A Flock of Seagulls’ single “I Ran (So Far Away)” reached the Billboard Top Ten.

Early 1983 – 30% of the record sales in the United States were from British acts.

18 July 1983 – 18 of the top 40 singles in the United States were by British artists. This record surpassed the previous record of 14 set during the First Wave British Invasion in 1965.

April 1984 – 40 of the top 100 singles in the United States were by acts of British originan.

25 May 1985 – At the height of the 2nd British Invasion, the British Commonwealth claimed 8 consecutive Hot 100 #1 hits.

August 1986 – Bon Jovi’s third album, Slippery When Wet, spent 8 non-consecutive weeks on the Billboard 200 charts, thus pushing British artists off the chart and marking the end of the 2nd Wave British Invasion.



Third Wave of British Invasion: “The New Millenium”

After the late 90s success pop British girl-group the Spice Girls, American music executives started snatching up UK artists that would eventually become cross-over music sensations in smaller US markets. However, none of these artists were able to maintain a consistent position within the top 40.
Following the success and then breakup of the Spice Girls in 2000, British (and Irish) acts that arrived in the United States included:
B*Witched (B*Witched, Awake and Breathe – 1998-2000)
S Club 7 (5 Studio Albums, 2000 – 2002)
Samantha Mumba (Gotta Tell You – 2000-2002)
BB Mak (Sooner or Later, Into Your Head – 200-2003)



Fourth Wave of British Invasion?

In January 2011, Adele released her sophomore album 21. Not only did it debut at #1, but it debuted at #1 in at least 7 countries and has since gone diamond in the United States, selling over 26 million copies worldwide. Following her success, Americans are now left wondering if we are in the midst of a fourth wave of invasion by the British.

Here are a list of accomplishments in the United States by British artists.

12 February 2012 – Adele takes home five trophies from the Annual Grammy Award including: Album of the Year, Best Pop Vocal Album, Record of the Year, Song of the Year, and Best Short Form Music Video.

22 February 2012 – Adele’s 21 debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 with first-week sales reaching 352,000 copies. It later became the fastest selling album since NYSNC’s 2001 album No Strings Attached, selling 10 million copies in 92 weeks.

20 March 2012 – One Direction makes history and inducted into the Guiness Book of World Records for becoming the first U.K. artists to ever debut at #1 on the Billboard 200, selling close to 180,000 records in the first week.

7 September 2012 – “Lights” by Ellie Goulding was certified triple platinum by the RIAA, having sold 3.1 million copies in the US as of January 2013.

22 September 2011 – Calvin Harris produced “We Found Love” for Rihanna’s Talk That Talk album. It peaked at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and remained there for ten-consecutive weeks.

25 September 2012 – Mumford & Sons released their sophomore album, Babel. It became the second-biggest selling debut in 2012 in the United States.

20 January 2013 – The Saturdays’ new reality television series premiers on the E! Network.

21 January 2013 – Rita Ora appears as herself on the CW series 90210 to perform two of her songs from her debut album.

February 2013 – Cher Lloyd’s single “Want You Back” has sold around 2,000,000 copies, being certified double-platinum in the United States.

13 March 2013 – Ed Sheeran opens for Taylor Swift on her sold out RED Tour in Omaha, Nebraska.

24 May 2013 – Rita Ora appears in Fast & Furious 6 as herself.

28 May 2013 – Little Mix’s debut album DNA entered the Top Albums Chart on the iTunes countdown at No. 2.

2 June 2013 – The Wanted’s new reality television series — The Wanted Life — premiers on the E! Network.


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Behind the Camera's: Steven Spielberg

Born on December 18, 1946, in Cincinnati, Ohio, Steven Spielberg was an amateur filmmaker as a child. He went on to become the enormously successful and Academy Award-winning director of such films as Schindler's List, The Color Purple, E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial, and Saving Private Ryan. In 1994, he co-founded the studio Dreamworks SKG, which was purchased by Paramount Pictures in 2005.

Along with his three Academy Award wins, Spielberg has received many other honors during his distinguished career. He received the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in 1986. In 2004, Spielberg received the Directors Guild of America Lifetimes Achievement Award and the French Legion of Honor in recognition of his work. He was inducted into the Science Fiction Hall of Fame in 2005.

Getting Closer to Disclosure

Disclosure are Guy and Howard Lawrence, siblings from Surrey, England who debuted in 2010, when they uploaded early material to MySpace. Surprised by the amount of streams and positive response, they linked with the Moshi Moshi label, which released the scruffy and rather noisy dubstep tracks "Offline Dexterity" and "Street Light Chronicle" as a single in August 2010. In 2011, the hyperactive bass of "Carnival" led a five-track EP of the same title, released for free and also trimmed to two tracks for its retail release via Transparent. The same year, they were sought for their first remixes: Jess Mills' "Live for What I'd Die For" and Emeli Sandé's "Daddy." They broke through in 2012, as their sound became cleaner, more reminiscent of U.K. garage, and more pop-oriented through collaborations with vocalists. A remix of Jessie Ware's "Running," released on PMR -- the Island-affiliated label to which they signed -- was something of a warning flare. November 2011's "Latch," featuring Sam Smith, peaked at number 11 in the U.K. and was quickly followed by February 2013's "White Noise," a collaboration with AlunaGeorge that reached number two. Eliza Doolittle contributed to the following "You & Me," which became Disclosure's third consecutive Top 20 hit. In the U.S., where the duo signed to Interscope's boutique sublabel Cherrytree, a brief EP titled The Singles, consisting of those three hits and a remix by Hudson Mohawke, was released in advance of the June 2013 album Settle.

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Queen B: The Big Hype About Beyoncé

It's a fact that mostly everybody in the world knows who Beyoncé is. She is married to rapper Jay-Z, has a daughter named Blue, is a former member of the group Destiny's Child, and is number one on The World's Most Powerful Celebrities according to Forbes Magazine. What is it about Beyoncé that everyone loves you ask? I'm here to give you you're answer.

As a performer, Beyoncé has made perfection and fierceness her brand, which turns everyday glimpses of her personal life online into mini-events. Fans maintain this status, too, deifying her with nicknames like Beysus and King Bey that expect and encourage flawlessness, not mortality. Her fans adore her and that's a great thing she has going for her right now.

Beyoncé went solo in 2003 after being with Destiny's Child since 1997. She had her chart-topping single "Crazy in Love" on her first solo album "Dangerously in Love". Her second album, "B-Day" included singles like "Irreplaceable" and "Déjá Vu" and was released on her birthday *haha, get it?*

Queen B also premiered in movies such as The Pink Panther, and has her own documentary named "Life is but a Dream" and had 1.8 million viewers.

As you know, there are A LOT of further reasons why Beyoncé is so popular. But, if you didn't know why, I hope this gave you an idea.

The New Guy in Town

As some of you may know, the Black Knight Marching Band has a new director this year by the name of Michael Procyk. He is taking over for the former band director, Richard Eakin. Most people that are not in band don't really get to see him much, so people would probably think of him as a stranger. I sat down with Mr. Procyk and asked him some questions to get some input about him, his job, and what it's like coming from one school to another.

What inspired you to become a band director? "Experience in college marching band, working with several high school percussion groups before I went back to get my degree and watching drum corps performances."

Where did you teach before you came to Van Buren? "I taught at Eastwood Schools for 2 years and Arcadia for 11 years."

Pros and Cons about your job? Pros: "Getting to teach and be around music all day long, working and interacting with students is fun and interesting, and getting off at 3:10 everyday is nice." Cons: "Working with kids *insert laugh here*."

Were you nervous about coming to Van Buren? "Not really."

What kind of relationship do you hope to have with your students? "One where the feel comfortable (being part of the group). One where they are not afraid to make mistakes and ask me questions."

Do you see great success for the band? "Yes I do! The students are growing quickly and doing well."

Did students make you feel welcome? "Yes."

Do like teaching a bigger band or a smaller band? "There are pluses and minuses to both, I've worked with small bands and large bands, both can be challenging, both can have their advantages." 

What are your goals for your band? "Continue to grow as musicians and individuals, to develop a strong appreciation for music, and develop personal skill to work together."

Was it hard adjusting to a new school and a new band? "Not really because I've worked with a few different programs, so it’s not tough."